Critical Evaluation:
The MA Summer Show preparation has allowed me to consolidate an idea that was embedded in my work from the outset: the painting plus its video as a single modular unit of installation. I intend to continue this trajectory already having further oil paintings on aluminium in progress in the studio.
The inbuilt modularity offers flexibility with respect to exhibition spaces in developing proposals to show work. Whether showing a single unit in a small space or multiple units in larger spaces, each unit can exist independently or as part of a greater number, sharing the same architecture and related points of origin.
Material is important to me. I have documented the reason I use oil as a medium in the recent Second Symposium. I intend to create a new series of smaller works in oil on copper. I have used this metal support before and know of its potential to offer different qualities to those of aluminium and look forward to discovering how this might affect my methodology.
I have come to realise that a painting possesses a memory-narrative which is hidden in its final state. This narrative is unveiled through the videos I have developed bringing together poetic narrative with the poietics (the “making” dimension) of the work . The continual documentation of all the phases of a work in progress to compile the videos has become vital to my practice and I intend to further hone my camera and digital editing skills and improve my studio set-up. Taking as a model William Kentridge’s studio set-up, this would include an arrangement for fixing the camera for perfect registration of the images.
Importantly, the MA has paved the way for further research. I am currently formulating a specific concept which builds on my research statement, focusing on aesthetic considerations from painting. I will bring this to a point where I can initiate a conversation with a potential academic supervisor with a view to undertaking a practice-based doctorate building on ideas and concepts developed throughout the MA.
During the MA I have created a number of poetic texts some of which form the basis for narrated audio tracks for the videos presented in the Summer show. These poetic narratives enrich my work as a whole and have the potential for publication. I have found that I actually enjoy voicing the texts, which was unexpected at the outset. This opens up a new possibility for performance, to experiment with and develop further. Other audio tracks have been created using sounds uttered by me, then made into soundscapes. With headphones, the videos offer immersive audiovisual experiences to the viewer/listener.
Also, I intend to develop the MA body of work as a touring show, building on previous experience and that gained during the past two MA years.
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